Rush look to get better as off-season commences

We asked Saskatchewan Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan to give us his five highlights from the team’s 2016 championship season. He reeled them off quickly, and without hesitation.

Here they are, straight from the man who guided the team to its second straight National Lacrosse League title.

First off, No. 1, is how we were embraced in Saskatchewan. That’s just been amazing. I can’t even describe it. That would be the No. 1 thing that stuck out for me this year, is how we moved to a brand-new market, and it just took off.

Next is the (title) winning goal by Jeff Cornwall. It was big.

The home-and-home with Colorado (11-5 and 11-8 wins late in the season) was really important, because we clinched first in the west, and avoided the one-and-done division final.

The way (goaltender) Aaron Bold played in the playoffs. He had his struggles in the regular season, by his standards. He has high standards for himself, and I expect a lot out of him as well, because he’s one of the best, if not the best, in the business. But in the playoffs, he brought his game to a whole other level.

The emergence of (defender) Ryan Dilks has been huge. He’s a top, top player in our league now.

Derek Keenan is a two-time defending champion, but hasn’t wrapped his head yet around the idea of a three-peat.

Too early, the Saskatchewan Rush head coach and general manager said this week. Much too early.

“We’ll enjoy this one for a little while, before we start thinking about that,” says Keenan, whose Rush clinched the National Lacrosse League title this past weekend with an 11-10 win and two-game sweep over the Buffalo Bandits.

“But you know what? It still blows me away that Rochester won three in a row (between 2012 and 2014). It’s so hard to win in our league.”

The Rush are well-positioned as they head into the off-season. Keenan anticipates no problems in retaining restricted free agents Chris Corbeil, Kyle Rubisch, Jeremy Thompson and Curtis Knight. The team can keep their services by matching any outside offer.

Starting goaltender Aaron Bold could be an unrestricted free agent, but the team plans to designate him their franchise player, which binds him to the Rush at an expanded salary.

Meanwhile, the Rush have stockpiled the first, third and ninth overall draft picks and Keenan says he has no plans, at present, to trade one of his first two selections.

“Anything can happen, honestly, but I think one and three we keep, for sure,” Keenan said. “Then we’ll see what else is there.”

Interestingly, Keenan’s son Ryan — a left-shot offensive player — is projected as a first-round NLL selection, which could add some intrigue to proceedings.

As what he’s looking for specifically, Keenan said that will be decided as the off-season rolls along.

“We can bring in some youth, some skill, some athleticism, and try to get better,” he said.

“It’s hard to say (which position area the team will look to improve). I have to analyze everything over the course of the summer. I’m always looking to get better on the back end. We’re really, really good, but we can always be better and more athletic. It’s nothing specific, though — we just need to analyze the whole thing and see what’s there. We have a good idea already what’s in the draft, but there’s a lot of analysis still to be done in terms of players in the draft, and our own team.”

Keenan said he’ll pore over individual Rush players and statistics through the off-season, because he doesn’t think his team can win another championship without getting better. But in the meantime, and for the short-term, he dwells on intangibles, like pride in what the team accomplished in 2016.

“I can’t help but think how proud I am of our players,” he said. “They really are a selfless group. It’s not cliché; I don’t say it just to say it. Every one of those guys sacrificed personal accolades and personal statistics for the betterment of the team, and it’s the truth. That showed big-time in the playoffs. We battled through some ups and downs this year, and at the end of it all, they bought in 100 per cent. I talk about that a lot, about buying in, about the non-negotiables. And they bought into it.”

The whole group is gathering this weekend in Mexico for a team celebration courtesy owner Bruce Urban, then they’ll go their separate ways.

Keenan didn’t attend last year’s post-championship gathering in Las Vegas, but this time around, he says he’ll be there.

“I’ll go, have some fun with the guys for four days,” he said, then he laughed. “That’ll be enough of that crew, though, for me.”

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